mjmooney Posted January 18, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2019 Keeping this thread going, singlehanded. On to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 (edited) On 16/01/2019 at 12:18, mjmooney said: Right, finished Lolita, and now onto a re-read of: I thought that was your holiday journal when I quickly glanced at the title i know you're a fan of the “classics” but must confess to being a bit of a heathen when it come to them ... if I saw a Steinbeck or Hemingway book or even Dickens for that matter on a shelf I’d be unlikely to pick it up.. no logical reason why I just seem to have avoided them ... I put it down to my english literature days at school and being forced to read “ old people’s books “ .... As I say it’s not logical I like to read and have loads of books near my bed in the ““ to read” list so I have no excuses Edited January 18, 2019 by tonyh29 you're not your ..shocking !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 59 minutes ago, mjmooney said: Keeping this thread going, singlehanded. On to... I'm reading Republic by Plato. Will be a while before I'm done I suspect. Loving it though. There's been a few discussions where we have very different views or taste. Not to infer that I don't enjoy your posts, I do. So I have to say, utmost admiration for the amount you read. Good work with carrying the thread on your shoulders. Keep it up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 I normally stick to the same series of books and authors but I'm up to date on all of them so re-read 1984. Still a powerful book but loses something on second reading. I'm now resorting to reading Shane Warne's autobiography, I love my cricket and always get an autobiography for Christmas and have to admit I haven't read any of the last 5 year's worth but at least Warne's a bit of a character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 18, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2019 2 hours ago, tonyh29 said: I thought that was your holiday journal when I quickly glanced at the title i know your a fan of the “classics” but must confess to being a bit of a heathen when it come to them ... if I saw a Steinbeck or Hemingway book or even Dickens for that matter on a shelf I’d be unlikely to pick it up.. no logical reason why I just seem to have avoided them ... I put it down to my english literature days at school and being forever to read “ old people’s books “ .... As I say it’s not logical I like to read and have loads of them near my bed in the ““ to read” list so I have no excuses Steinbeck and Hemingway are great, but I'm with you on Dickens. Never managed to get past a couple of chapters without throwing it across the room in anger. My wife (tbf like most lovers of literature) considers him the greatest novelist of all time, but for me it's utterly unreadable tosh. I've got fairly broad tastes, but when it comes to 'serious' literature, I'm heavily into 20th Century 'modernism' - roughly 1900 to 1940. Never could get on with the 19th C British writers (although the French and Russian ones are pretty good). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 18, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2019 1 hour ago, A'Villan said: I'm reading Republic by Plato. Will be a while before I'm done I suspect. Loving it though. I studied Plato at both school and university, but I'm not sure I'd read it for pleasure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 18, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2019 1 hour ago, A'Villan said: There's been a few discussions where we have very different views or taste. Not to infer that I don't enjoy your posts, I do. So I have to say, utmost admiration for the amount you read. Good work with carrying the thread on your shoulders. Keep it up! Yeah, I don't think we'll ever see eye to eye on music. What I post on here is mostly the fiction - I've always got several non-fiction books on the go in parallel, but only ever one novel at a time. After the Yourcenar above, I think it'll be one of the VERY long ones, so I may not be posting in this thread so frequently for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Just finished Agent Zigzag by Ben Mcintyre - it's about Eddie Chapman a double agent during WW2. A remarkable story, and quite the er, character. The author does a great job of weaving a thrilling narrative from all the research. Unsure what I think of Chapman himself, as outside of wartime, he sounds like a right rocket polisher, mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 23 minutes ago, mjmooney said: Yeah, I don't think we'll ever see eye to eye on music. What I post on here is mostly the fiction - I've always got several non-fiction books on the go in parallel, but only ever one novel at a time. After the Yourcenar above, I think it'll be one of the VERY long ones, so I may not be posting in this thread so frequently for a while. Bob Dylan goes alright. I noticed your collection on your neatly ordered shelves in the DIY thread. To borrow your phrase from above, I have quite a broad taste in music, Metal is just about the only genre that has never really appealed to me. I have never really done fiction. I think the last one I read, which was admittedly brilliant, was '100 Years of Solitude'. Forget the author but he won a Nobel Prize. Non-fiction and biographies are where it's at for me. I donate most of the books I read to the local book store when I'm done. At the rate I read they probably make $5 a year off me though. I have a tendency to start many finish few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 34 minutes ago, mjmooney said: I studied Plato at both school and university, but I'm not sure I'd read it for pleasure. I loved philosophy class in high school. My teacher called me 'profound' in one report card. Most other subjects read 'Unsatisfactory' or 'Did Not Attend' by age 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 18, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2019 2 hours ago, A'Villan said: Bob Dylan goes alright. I noticed your collection on your neatly ordered shelves in the DIY thread. To borrow your phrase from above, I have quite a broad taste in music, Metal is just about the only genre that has never really appealed to me. I have never really done fiction. I think the last one I read, which was admittedly brilliant, was '100 Years of Solitude'. Forget the author but he won a Nobel Prize. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Good book. I don't like metal either, but I'd still listen to any metal over any hip hop! But that's another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 3 hours ago, Rodders said: Just finished Agent Zigzag by Ben Mcintyre - it's about Eddie Chapman a double agent during WW2. A remarkable story, and quite the er, character. The author does a great job of weaving a thrilling narrative from all the research. Unsure what I think of Chapman himself, as outside of wartime, he sounds like a right rocket polisher, mind. I read operation Mincemeat of his so might have to check this one out the film Triple cross is loosely based on Chapman ..rumour has he was approached to be a technical adviser on the film, but the French wouldn't allow him in the country as he was still wanted over a plot to kidnap the Sultan of Morocco !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 6 minutes ago, tonyh29 said: I read operation Mincemeat of his so might have to check this one out the film Triple cross is loosely based on Chapman ..rumour has he was approached to be a technical adviser on the film, but the French wouldn't allow him in the country as he was still wanted over a plot to kidnap the Sultan of Morocco !! that operation is referenced in the book and so is the film funnily enough, yes it's mad, in the epilogue after he was let go from the secret service, how he just went all in on these insane schemes. Not one for a quiet life that chap. Mcintyre is really good, it's the second one of his I've read. The other was A Spy Amongst Friends which looks at Kim Phillby - also an excellent read. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 18, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2019 I enjoyed Agent Zigag, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Currently re-reading this: Or rather listening to it. Never thought I'd listen to books, but it's quite nice when you're doing something, like driving to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 19, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19, 2019 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Had this for Christmas and it's right up my alley. Not written chronologically, it's taken more on subject matter chapter by chapter, bridges, crime, food, shit, tax, immigration, all the usual. Full of facts, easy reading, accessible history. Giving me lots of ideas for places to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 19, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19, 2019 11 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: Had this for Christmas and it's right up my alley. Not written chronologically, it's taken more on subject matter chapter by chapter, bridges, crime, food, shit, tax, immigration, all the usual. Full of facts, easy reading, accessible history. Giving me lots of ideas for places to visit. My wife bought me a copy of that for Christmas, many years ago. I've never been able to finish it. I don't know London at all well, and I think someone who does would get more out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Just read this Actually didn't realise how ingrained the cliche was in football til I read this, now it seems every single sentence in a football commentary is just full of them. Hilarious. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 1 hour ago, mjmooney said: My wife bought me a copy of that for Christmas, many years ago. I've never been able to finish it. I don't know London at all well, and I think someone who does would get more out of it. I do like a bit of London on a fairly regular basis, I'm there with work a bit and we do like a family weekend where they see a show and I go walkabout. You're right though, it's mentioning things that happened hundreds of years ago in places I recognise that's keeping the book fascinating for me. One of my fave buildings is 30 Cannon Street and I've just realised that somewhere further along the same street is the London Stone, so I'll go seek that out on Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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